The Freezing Death
by The Burning Cheese
Summary: The sun chariot was stolen, and all life on Earth would die without the sun. Will Percy and his friends be able to find it before the world end and the last light dies? PERCABETH. As they say, summary sucks, story better. A review is appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: You must be an idiot to think that I own PJ&O series, since this is . You didn't? Well…. Uh…. Whatever. Read on.**

**Author's notes: Once I have finished TLO, I have been having sinking feelings since then. Every time I think about the last sentence of the book, "This time, I didn't look back." I feel like someone drove a knife through my heart, and I thought that this is even better than Harry Potter, and deserves to go on. He wrote it, as if there will be a sequel and cutting it off with that last sentence. **

**This is the story that touched me most. If someone can tell Rick Riodan that, it would be really appreciated. Now, I can't wait anymore, and feel like expressing it on some author's notes unthought-of. I have thought about this for days (since I don't have much to do in a day). Well, bored of some author's notes? Let's storm the story!**

**P.S. Percy's POV will come soon, just wait for it, and not get bored, I want to introduce my character first. The story is set 1 Year after TLO. This contains non-OOC PERCABETH thing I would like to bet myself on. Remember the cool facts in the end! One more thing, PLEASE REVIEW. Reviewing is the only way that I would somebody is actually reading this, because I would drop the story if no one is reading it.**

The Freezing Death

Chapter 1:

**Lionel's POV**

I am Lionel Crawford. Two years earlier, I was just sitting, playing "Twilight Dawn" in piano at my school when my music teacher turned into an _empousa _and assaulted me. Well, a satyr dived through the window and shoved me away from the piano, which was pulverized several seconds later. He was a very hasty satyr and well, we successfully ran from the empousa. (By jumping of the balcony and landing on the back of a dump truck, to be exact. The dirty smell didn't come off for 3 days, and I felt like a radioactive banana peel.)

I was brought of Half-Blood camp and trained by Chiron, a centaur, and well, Mr.D (Dionysus, the god of wine, who ran off after a wood nymph and got punished to be the camp director and no drinking wine [which seems to piss him off] for a 100 years, but it was shortened to 50 years due to his… "Good behavior" after the last stand on Olympus.) tend to always call me "Lioner Cowfork" or "Lionea Cawfrog" . I'm a year-rounder, because I have no home to go to.

I don't mind that, since he gets everybody's name in the camp. (Except Chiron, who I didn't notice that he always get Chiron's name right until last year) I usually tend to stay out of his way though, unless he specifically called for me. By the way, I am a demigod, a son of Apollo.

The satyr that got me here said that I was very hard to track, because I haven't got dyslexia or ADHD (which seems to be primary symptoms for a half-blood) I did very well in English (Which was impossible for a half-blood to do, because of dyslexia) and he told me that what gave me away was when I was with him and I used a public payphone to call 911 and report 2 drunk people brawling. I was an orphan, so I kind of don't have much money for leisure activities, let alone buying a mobile phone.

They also say that I am very un-Apollo like. I am pretty decent at bow mastery, but clearly not as good as other Apollo kids. I was at the range, watching them doing streak of _bull'seyes_ while I miss occasionally. I swear that some Athena or Ares kid could defeat me single-handedly at bow. However, I seem to be the best of the cabin when it came to swords, but hey, swords aren't the tool of the trade for the Apollo cabin.

I also learnt how to curse somebody to speak in rhymes (And the Apollo kid seems to enjoy it very much). Well, the only thing I am Apollo-like is probably that I am into music, and I seem to get it easily (Believe me, music for the son of the God of Music is no sweat.) They also tell me that I look a lot older than I do. I am going to be 17 this December and they say that I look like I am 18. I stood against lots of monsters last year, which was Kronos' invasion in New York. Well, I did nothing as cool as Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon did. I've been in the camp for 2 years, and I hadn't gone on a quest even once. (Well, I don't count standing against hordes of monsters protecting the Empire States building a quest)

**Percy's POV**

My second year at Goods was over, and I was in my room, drinking blueberry smoothie when somebody knocked on the door.

"Yes?" I said.

"Hey honey. Have you packed up yet?" My mom answered.

My mom, Sally Jackson, was probably the best person in the world. Well, she went through a lot of trouble, and when I say a lot of trouble, I mean staying in the underworld and having a world-class jerk as husband kind lots of trouble.

By the way, the world-class jerk I was talking about is Gabe Ugliano, who, well… kind of turned into a statue when my dad mailed me a Medusa's head from Olympus. My current stepdad, Paul Blofis (I got his name wrong the first time I called his name. I said "Blowfish", so did my father, the god of the sea.) was with my mom for two years now, and he was about gazillion times better than Gabe, and that wasn't an exaggeration.

"Yes mom. I'm ready." I replied

"By the way, Percy, Annabeth's here." She said, and she had a weird glee in her voice, kind of when you mock a couple glee.

"I'm coming out, mom."

I opened the door, and I saw Annabeth waiting outside the door, next to Paul's Prius. The world froze. She was a pretty girl, her hair curled like a princess. I was figuring out what to say, whether I should ask how is she or how her new school is. It was awkward, especially when I kissed her twice last summer, and once two summers ago. Before I could figure out what to say, she spoke.

"Hey, Percy." She said

"Hey, Annabeth." I replied. Apparently, I couldn't think of anything better than this.

We sat in the back of Paul's Prius. Paul got in the front and started up the engine. She was asleep already. I figured out that she must be really tired, so I just let her take a nap. On the way to camp, she unexpectedly held my hand in her sleep, and it was quite embarrassing. It was really awkward, and it would be even more embarrassing if Paul paid attention at the back of the car, which he was obviously not.

Maybe he didn't want us to be embarrassed, or either he really wasn't paying any attention at all. Well, I admit that Annabeth's hand was warm and comforting, and I felt kind of good about it. She held my hand all the way to camp. She woke up when the car parked, and let go of my hand, and we looked into each other's eyes.

"Well, we're here. Good luck for the summer, Percy. Oh and also you too, Annabeth." Paul said.

We got off, and Paul drove away. Some Apollo kids were at the range. Michael Yew was leading the Apollo cabin, scoring a streak of bull'seyes. The Apollo cabin was best at archery. Well, if there's anybody better at archery than Apollo kids, I've got to give that to the Hunters, followers of Artemis, the goddess of the Moon. There was one kid I saw from time to time, but I never spoke to him. He was doing worst than the rest, but hey, at least his archery was better than mine, though I was pretty sure that Annabeth could beat him.

**Well, that was the first chapter. This is not a one shot, so I will keep writing as long as reviews are coming, because I don't want to go writing 1400 words chapters for nobody to read. The action is going to come next chapter, so I'll count this as a prologue. Again, please, Please, PLEASE review, as if I live on reviews. Oh now it's time for a fun fact:**

**I named Lionel after Lionel Johnson, a composer, which I see suitable because his name is cool and Lionel Crawford is a son of Apollo, the god of music (as well as god of the sun and poem).**

**The next chapter will be up quick!**


	2. Capture The Flag

The Lost God

Chapter 2:

**Percy's POV**

I was unpacking my things when I noticed something unusual about the cabin. Not in a bad way, I suppose. The cabin was extraordinary clean. The Minotaur horn from my first summer was upright, the pool I slashed in half earlier (Long Story) was fixed, and all the scraps I left on the floor last summer were gone. Someone called from behind me.

"Brother!" My half-brother, Tyson, who is a Cyclops yelled. I could picture him charging at me with his bear hug.

He hugged me, full force, but I survived it. It would have felt nothing if I had Achilles' curse on me, but the gods lifted the curse off me long ago, because they see it as too dangerous and I might be out of control. I have no problem with that, because I only dived into the river Styx only to defeat Kronos, and I did. Besides, I just wanted to be like other campers (regardless of me being the only son of Poseidon at the moment.)

"Hey! I thought you were supposed to be sorting out your army, general?" I mocked him.

"Well, the first thing they have to do is rebuild dad's palace, and I have no knowledge about building things, so I guess it's my day off then."

"Lucky you, eh? What about the stick?"

"What stick?"

"The stick you asked for last summer! You know, when dad promoted you and Zeus said he'll grant you a weapon and you said a stick."

"Oh, about that…" He pulled out a walking stick.

"So that's it? What does it do?"

He knocked it to the ground twice, and it stretched into a spear.

"By the way, brother, you remember the shield that I created?" He asked

"Of course I do." I replied. In my second summer, he created a wristwatch for me. When I press a button on it, it grows into a full-sized shield.

"They're making replicas of it, and your sword too! So the heroes don't have to carry a sword and shield across the states when they go on a quest."

"Percy?" Someone said as the door creaked open. It was Chiron, activities director and my teacher.

"Oh, Chiron. What's the matter?" I asked.

"Capture the flag." He said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I told Tyson that I had to go, and got suited in my armor. As usual, Clarisse and her Ares cabin were against us. I never would never expect them to be good friends with me for the rest of my life, especially since I stabbed their dad in the heel. There have been a lot of cabin additions, so they only allow 4 cabins in a side per round, but they have many rounds for capture the flag now. We had the Hermes cabin, not overpopulated anymore, Athena cabin, Nemesis cabin and Iris cabin. I am a special case, because I am a one man cabin. For the other side, there was Apollo cabin, Morpheus cabin, Eris (The god of strife) cabin and obviously, Ares cabin, who seems to be always ready to chew my bone up.

"No Killing and intentional maiming please. All magical items are allowed. You may start." Chiron announced.

I was in charge of the attacking side, as well as Athena and Nemesis cabin. Iris cabin was guarding the flag, and Hermes cabin is running around planting their magical traps and patrolling the flanks. As soon as we got started, arrows streaked across the woods, creating tripwires, but most of us were fine. Some of us tripped, and landed in traps, which sent them sky-high into the trees. A stray arrow came too high, and I cut the rope behind it.

**Lionel's POV**

I knew it. It was too high. We pulled out more arrows, and fired another volley. Michael Yew told us to hold fire, as the Ares cabin charged, a few arrows were let loose before the firing stopped. The fight below was fierce, and we saw everything from the ridge upwards, which was Michael's secret spot (well, not that secretive, because many people know about It.) and we always used the place when we are in the red team. As I looked down, I saw something unusual. I turned to Michael.

"Michael, do you think the attacking force is a bit thin? I've never seen this low number of people being the spearhead." I asked

"Maybe they're trying to hit from the sides. Well, we have Morpheus cabin protecting the rim of the forest." He said

I heard rustling from the grass behind us. "Michael! The rear!"

We were outflanked by the Athena cabin. The bad thing about the ridge is, if we got flanked, there's nowhere to retreat to, because when you take a few steps behind, you fall down the ridge, into the battle below. A few of us made the jump downwards, but Michael told us to make our stand, so I drew my sword and shield. The Apollo kids were no match against Athena's. A few of us got thrown off the ridge as they made their first charge. Someone, who I didn't recognize because of his helmet was a bit too big for his head made a horizontal slash, which I parried and sidestepped to the side, ready for a stab. The Athena kid dodged forwards, and that was when he noticed his mistake. He stumbled near the edge of the ridge. I gave him a flurry of strikes as I press him backwards, and bashed him in his chestplate, sending him tumbling down the ridge.

Michael was fighting against Annabeth from the Athena cabin, which he was obviously losing against. She feinted with her sword and got her sword at his throat, which made him drop his weapons. I was thinking about helping him, but someone was coming at me. Malcolm, I noticed. He was a lot better than the last guy. He made me tangled my sword and shield in the same place, then smashed me in the face, sending my helmet off. I felt like someone just rang a bell in my head. Somehow, I came to my senses. I spun around in a full circle, moving to his left, then I jabbed my elbow into his midsection. He let out an OWW! He staggered towards the end of the ridge, and I shoved him off it. I noticed that the whole Apollo cabin was down, and he was coming at me. Percy Jackson was coming at me.

**Percy's POV**

I charged towards the last Apollo kid, who was helmetless. I jabbed at him with the riptide. He scraped my sword off with his shield, and was throwing down a vertical slash. I backed away, and then lunged back towards him.

**Lionel's POV**

Percy lunged at me, and I dodged to the side, giving him a quick slash, which he easily parried. He turned around and gave me a reverse diagonal slash. I stepped backwards. I lunged, feinting him with a high slash, which he raised his shield up to deflect it, but my hand naturally moved around and to the other side, a middle slash. He tried to parry it, when my hand moved unexpectedly around him and I threw a low slash. He jumped, and put his sword at his throat.

**Percy's POV**

I never expected anyone to feint with their sword twice (since I never had been feinted twice.) but my ADHD senses saved me. I jumped over his blade and put mine at his throat.

"Drop it." I said

Without replying, with a surprised look on his face, he dropped his sword and shield. That was the first time I got a clear look at him. He has got a fair curly black hair and a dark brown eye, with a piercing gaze, as if he was reading your mind. Chiron blew the horn.

"The blue team wins!" Chiron announced.

Somehow, the Stoll brothers snuck the flag back to the blue flag.

"You're good." I complimented. "And you are?" I asked.

"Crawford. Lionel Crawford." He answered with a puzzled look on his face.

**Ok, I've got to put extra effort into this. I understand that it wastes your time, but at least, please tell me that you have read this, because I am not sure if anybody is reading this. A review is appreciated (I know I sound like a review hungry author. Fine I AM a review hungry author.) I will try to finish the next chapter ASAP.**


	3. Dionysus breaks the bad news

**First of all, I would thank for the reviews. Hopefully, I will be able to come up with a chapter every evening (GMT+8) but as I said, hopefully. I could some extra characters too, but you can suggest them by PM-ing me or the reviews section. A non-mentioned god would most be advised (Seriously all you do is little research, because there are like dozens of minor gods, and when I say little, I mean 5 mins, but no big threes please. I removed Percy's Achilles' curse because I don't want him to look invincible, I want him to just be the usual Percy, that's all.**

The Freezing Death

Chapter 3

**Lionel's POV**

I stepped out of the infirmary (Well, Malcolm did smashed me with his shield in my face pretty hard) and went for the cabin. The cabin was in a mess. The rugs were pulled out of bed, windows open. As usual, there are scraps on the floor here and there, but I wasn't sure if I would like to clean it up till inspection. It was in the evening, and I knew exactly what to do. I pulled a portable chair and a compact keyboard out from under my bed. I opened the door, and stepped outside. The sky was evening blue, and I set out for the canoe lake.

I unpacked my chair under a big tree, in the shades. (Well, "Son of Apollo in the shades?" you might ask, but sometimes, it becomes a habit to sit in the shades.) The grass was flowing in a torrent of waves, in synchronization with the wind. The leaves were moving slightly. Peleus, the guard dragon was taking a nap under the gigantic pine tree with the Golden Fleece as he would usually do. I stretched once, and then sat on the chair. I pulled out my keyboard, turned the volume to max (which was not that loud anyways) and then set it on my lap. I was a little bit hunched over, but it was fine. I turned the electric keyboard on and started playing it.

I started with the minor key. Somehow, I feel that the major keys are too happy for a life, like it was meant for optimists, and well, I wasn't exactly one. Besides, minor key songs somehow seem to give me a warm feeling inside, but I couldn't describe how it felt like. I closed my eyes, and then played songs. The sounds merged as one, the sound of the breeze and gale, the sound of rustling leaves and the sound of the lake (And well, the sound of Peleus snoring). It was like I was in the same frequency with the nature. I continued to play naturally, until something caught my attention. The sun was setting, and the sky was bright orange. It was the sound of somebody singing.

The tune was elegant, and I froze. It was like a siren's song, (or as I heard, or well, I might have been a dead guy now) but not tempting. It just made me feel like home, like everything was safe, like the world is so simple that I wouldn't have to care about it so much anymore. By the time I noticed, I was playing to the same tune. The singing stopped.

"Thank you." Someone said from behind. I jumped with surprise. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you jump…"

"What are you thanking me for?" I said. It was a pretty girl, about my age, with a warm-looking caramel brown hair hair. She was wearing a camp Half-Blood T-shirt.

"For playing in the same tune as me." She said.

"O-oh right. You are?" I said. I am not sure if I was blushing, but I am sure that I was embarrassed.

"I'm Calypso. I watch over the strawberry gardens and make sure that they grow."

"How come I haven't seen you before?"

"I just came to camp this year. Before that… I was imprisoned by the gods…" She said, but with a sadder look on her face.

"What happened?" I didn't know that it was a wrong choice of word yet.

"I…I…" Her voice was trembling.

"You don't need to tell me what you don't want to say, Calypso." I cut her off, seeing that she was about to cry.

"Thank you."

"By the way, what are you doing here?"

"I am looking for a spot for a flower garden."

"Hmm… how about right here, near the lake?"

"Well…" She thought about it. "This is surely a nice place." She said, smiling at me.

"You need a hand?" I said, getting up and laying my keyboard on the chair.

"That would be appreciated…" She said, pausing after the last word, and I realized that she didn't know my name.

"Lionel." I spoke hurriedly. "What can I do?"

"Well then, Lionel, you could dig up the soil." She said, handing me a small shovel. I started digging. The sky was dark now.

Wait. The sky was DARK now?

"Oh no." I said.

"What's the matter?" She said while trying to sow some seeds and her arm collided into mine.

"Sorry." We said at the same time. Our eyes met, and she blushed. I wasn't sure if I was blushing too. My heart skipped a beat.

"U-uh, I-I need to kind of go now." I spoke unconfidently. I always speak like that when I felt awkward.

"Alright." I gave the shovel back to her, and turned around. "Lionel!" She said, and I turned around. "Why don't you come back here after dinner?" She continued.

"Sure. I'll be there." I said, before running off.

I reached the cabin, and everyone was inside. They were all looking at me for half a second, then turned back to their own business. I pushed the door and let it close by itself, and then walked to my bed. I pushed the chair and keyboard under the bed, and sat on it. The Stoll brothers were there, smuggling some snacks and soft drinks in as Michael Yew gave them some cash. With all the cabins added, and the lack of snacks and soft drinks in the camp, the Hermes cabin was making some serious cash (and golden drachmas) lately.

"You're late, Lion (Some campers call me Lion). Where have you been? Everybody somehow miraculously looked at me, including the Stoll brothers.

"I was out playing some music." I answered.

"Well, you do that all the time, and you never came late, did you?" Michael asked, and I felt as if he knew what I was doing.

"Well, I lost track of time, I guess."

"Seriously, why can't you just play music in the cabin?"

"Well, all of your chatting and fooling around is too much for my musical senses to handle, I guess?" I said playfully, and no one took it seriously.

"Well, guys, it's time for dinner." Michael Yew announced after taking a look at the wall clock as he wake up some sleeping campers. We all shuffled out the door, and the Stoll Brothers ran off to their cabin.

**Percy's POV**

I was walking to the dining area, which was extended due to the sudden increase of cabins. Each cabin's representative threw some food into the fire, as an offering to their godly parent. I currently am the only one who is in the Poseidon cabin, so I went up to the fire.

"Poseidon" I said as I tossed the food into the fire.

After the offerings were done, we started eating. I ordered my usual blue cherry coke from the magical cup. Many times, I was looking at the Athena table. Fine, I admit that I was looking at Annabeth. We had some eye-contacts, but after a few minutes, we were practically staring into each other's eyes. Malcolm said something to her that got her attention, and he laughed. She turned to him, and said something angrily at him, then gently pushed him. I noticed that he was teasing Annabeth about us.

I finished up my meal and stood up, staring at the moon. Something was moving across the moon, probably Artemis, going along with her usual business, on a flying sled with reindeers pulling it. Actually, she was the root of the Santa Claus story. Annabeth got up and was making her way back to her cabin. I was going to meet up with her, but Chiron stopped me.

"Percy, Mr.D wants a word with you at the big house." He said.

"Right now?" I said.

"I'm afraid so."

I walked up to the big house with Chiron. Chiron opened the door and went in first. I followed him inside. Dionysus was on a laptop, which surprised me, because Mr.D doesn't care about the world, much less surfing the internet.

"Damn you Blinky!" He shouted. Now I know why he is on a laptop. Playing his favorite game, Pac-Man.

"Mr.D?" Chiron said.

"Oh. I need to talk to you, Peter Johnson." I noticed that Mr.D was deliberately getting his name wrong.

"What about?" I asked.

"The sun chariot." He answered while playing Pac-Man.

"What about it?"

"Well, it was stolen, Peter Johnson."

"You mean somebody stole THE SUN?"

"Uh-huh."

"Then how was the sun up here today?"

"Uh-huh." Mr.D said, paying absolute attention to his laptop. He created a glass of wine in his hand.

"Mr.D, your restrictions." Chiron reminded him.

"Oh, I seem to have forgotten again." Mr.D replied before turning it into diet coke. "About the sun, Peter, the sun during the day was Apollo, not his chariot."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Apollo is making himself shiny to make up for the sun, because your puny humans would die without it. Oh well, I wouldn't care, but Demeter does, because her crop will die without it. And you know what? Making Demeter mad isn't one of the things you want. I must say that Apollo will not stay shiny forever. She had made a request to me to sent people on a quest to retrieve the sun chariot. If I don't? Well, I could admit that being clubbed by Demeter is nowhere near the word pleasant."

"And you want to send me?"

"And a couple of people you can choose. After that, you will go to the oracle."

"You mean Rachel's HERE?"

"Yes she is, Peter Johnson."

**Cheers for an extra-long chapter! I'm not sure if I got Calypso's hair color right, and if I didn't please correct me so I can edit the chapter. Well, one of my friends borrowed My Battle of The Labyrinth, so I don't know if I'm right. Hope you enjoy it. This is kind of an intro chapter, so please bear with it. Please Review!**

**NOTE: The issue with Calypso's hair colour fixed, thanks to Annabethfan101.**


	4. The Strike of The Drakon

**Meh. So what do you think? Good? Bad? Needs improvements in various fields? Like it? Don't like it? Want to suggest a new character? Post it in your review. All myths included are real, but the story may be a bit bent. If it is not real, I will notify you in the first time I mention it.**

The Freezing Death

Chapter 4: Strike of The Drakon

**Percy's POV**

I went upstairs to Rachel's room. I haven't seen her since she stated the new great prophecy. I just noticed that I have never been at the second floor of the big house. There was a corridor leading straight to a room, and a few rooms between them. Chiron told me that they were guest rooms, but Mr. D warned me to not to go into those rooms. I heeded his words, because he rarely gives an advice. A long purple mat stretched across the corridor. I walked up to the furthest room. I touched the doorknob, and then realized something. I let go of the doorknob and knocked the door gently twice. I stood stiffly in front of the door. The door opened, and there was Rachel standing. She was wearing her favorite Van Gogh T-shirt.

"Oh, hi Percy. Come in." she said.

I walked inside the door. I sat on the couch. She went back to her worktable.

"So… how's your new school?" I asked.

"Not as bad as I thought" She answered.

"Summer homework?"

"Yeah. Percy, we both know that you're here for a prophecy. Why don't we get ahead of idle chat and get to the point?"

"Uh-alright." It was as if someone sucker-punched me.

Rachel's eye glowed green, and they were wide open, as if she was in a trance. Well, she really WAS in a trance.

"Three heroes walk the path

Wrath befalls the god of the sun

One shall face death

And end the flames of hate"

She finished with a sigh. I walked out of the room without saying a word. I walked back down the stairs. Dionysus exclaimed in frustration as his Pac-Man died. Chiron asked me about the prophecy, and I told all of it to him. He told me to go off. I walked off towards my cabin.

**Lionel's POV**

I went back to my cabin, since Capture the flag started early. I fell onto my bed, but something came to mind. Calypso. I was supposed to be at the lakeside. I sprang out of my bed and went for the door. As I reached the door, an arm stretched across. It was Michael Yew.

"Where you goin'?" he asked.

"I'm…." I was thinking of the right answer. "Oh yes, I'm going out for a walk." I lied, because I did not want to be teased for the rest of the summer. I grabbed my dagger, because wandering around at night is not always safe, even in the camp. I walked down to the lake. Calypso was sitting there, planting something. I thought that her skin was glowing under the moonlight. She turned around and saw me. She made a gesture for me to come and see. I walked to the flowerbed and saw tiny, glowing plants coming out of the soil. "What are these?" I asked.

"Moonlace, flowers that uses moonlight to grow." She answered.

"It would be beautiful." I continued, looking at her, relaxing a little bit.

"The whole place will." She said, giving me a smile. This time, I smiled back.

"Aww…. Look at this! Mr. Lion! You having a nice stroll?" somebody yelled from behind.

I froze in shock. I slowly turned around, and my eyes widened. The whole Apollo cabin was standing there, along with the Stoll Brothers (which I assumed that they hatched out this plan). Connor Stoll was giving me two thumbs up, grinning wide. For the other people, they were either grinning or smirking, and doing teasing dances, and acting out of control and… well, you get the picture.

"W-w-why did you follow me!" I said, with panic in my voice.

"Oh well, you see, Lion. When was the last time you went for a walk? How about never? Is that a good guess?" Michael said. "Travis and Connor sensed something wrong, so here we are!"

I looked over to Calypso. She was blushing bright red (which I think was kind of cute). Before they could tease me more, a sound erupted in the lake. I turned around, and it was a dark silhouette, then two enormous yellow eyes opened wide. I turned away as quick as I could. I realized what it was. The Drakon. One gaze into its eyes and you won't be able to move. I turned around to Calypso, and she was pale and trembling. I noticed that she looked into the Drakon's eye.

"Drakon!" one of the campers yelled.

"Get her out of here and get help!" I yelled back to them. None of them responded. "Now!" Travis came and carried her away, and Connor ran back to the cabins.

We pulled out our daggers. We have learnt to fight the Drakon before, and all of us was staring at its fangs, to avoid its gaze. We circled it, as it looked around. I charged first, which was a big mistake. I was paying attention to its fangs, and its tail swiped at me, sending me flying into a tree. It sprayed poison at a camper. He rolled away, but the Drakon was already upon him. From afar, I saw that his eyes widened as he cried out something. A black form sprinted past me, and leaped into the air, and tackling the Drakon square in its head, making it flinch. Mrs. O'Leary came to our aid. She fought the Drakon last summer, and was injured. This time, she was settling the score. The Drakon raised its head up high, roared then opened its enormous mouth, ready to spray poison, as a streak of fire whipped past it, making the Drakon roar. It was Peleus. Finally, he gets to do his duty. A couple of people ran down the hill. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase.

**Percy's POV**

I was standing near the volleyball courts. I looked at my watch, and then looked around. She's late. I never recalled her being late. Suddenly, someone embraced me from the back. It was Annabeth. I see that she was using her cap to surprise me. I turned around and hugged her back. It wasn't as awkward as it was in front of my parents, but well, my real dad and her mom must've known about it by now, since they are gods.

"How's the day been?" she said, gently.

"Great! And I think it's just about to be even better." I answered.

"What do you mean, Seaweed Brain?" she asked playfully.

"Why don't you think about it, wise girl?"

She smiled, and threw her arms around me and smiled. I smiled back, and then we kissed. We held the kiss until we were out of breath. Suddenly, there was an incredibly loud roar coming from down the hill. We covered our ears. We looked down the hill, and we saw something we would never have forgotten. The Drakon. There were about a dozen campers surrounding it. All of them were armed with daggers. Annabeth and I knew what to do. We ran down the hill.

When we arrived, there were a bunch of injured people. Somebody was hunched over at a tree. I ran to him. I noticed that it was Lionel from Apollo cabin. I helped him up, and Annabeth ran off to fight the drakon. Mrs. O'Leary bit the Drakon's tail and held on hard, as it swung it around. Peleus was breathing fire at it, and the campers were surrounding it, occasionally landing a blow, and most of them bounced off. The Drakon has a dagger sticking out right above its eyes, which a camper must've missed a stab. I ran over to join Annabeth.

**Lionel's POV**

Percy helped me up and ran over to the Drakon, uncapping his famed Riptide sword on the way. I was unarmed, and my dagger must've been flung somewhere. Regardless of the lack of weapons, I ran over to join the fight. Percy lunged at the Drakon, but it sped away around Percy's back and tried to strike him, but Percy rolled to a space under its stomach, and stabbed it. It roared and spun crazily. I saw the opportunity, and took the leap. Everything was as if it was slow-motion. I landed on its head, and noticed a dagger sticking out of a place right over its eyes. I held on to the dagger, but the Drakon was spinning so wildly that I couldn't move.

I managed to crawl forward and kicked its eye. The monster howled in pain, raising its head. If I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it now, I thought. I pulled the dagger out, which could have been the opportunity for it to fling me off, but it was too busy with the pain. I drove the dagger through the eye, and the Drakon was raging around, swinging its head like a madman (or a mad monster, in this case) and I let go. I was rolling on the grass, thrown across at a high speed to the ground. The pain was red hot, like a stabbing pain. As the Pissed Off Drakon charged at me, a spear flew in a magnificent arc right through the Drakon's other eye. "Bull'seye" I thought. The world dimmed, then brightened again. A fully armed camper ran over to me, yelling something which I couldn't make out. This time, everything turned to darkness. Before my eyes closed, I could make out the face of somebody running to me. It was Calypso's

**I don't have so many things to say right now. Well, I would like more reviews, and thanks to anybody who reads this!**


	5. The Sword of Damocles

**Nothing much to say pre-note really. For the grammar errors, sometimes, I make them intentionally because I just feel natural about it, like "Dammit this doesn't look right! It has to be in present tense!" or something like that. The camp schedule is true, which the source comes directly from Rick Riordan's website.**

The Freezing Death

Chapter 5: The Sword of Damocles

**Lionel's POV**

I opened my eyes fairly slowly, gasping for air. I was in the infirmary, which all lights were out. There were other injured campers as well, but all of them were asleep. I was wandering how was I able to see in the dark, because I was a son of Apollo, the god of the sun, perhaps? I looked over the end of my bed, and knew how I was able to see in the dark. Someone was standing at the end of my bed, but there was something unusual about him. He was… glowing. Literally glowing. He looked like he was in his 20s, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, in shades, which I think was a little out of place, wearing shades at night.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm your dad, Lionel." He said, as he took off his shades and my jaw dropped. Not literally, of course.

"Y-y-you…" I said, and the words were stuck in my dry throat, because I never expected my dad to give me a visit. "Dad?" I asked, finally thinking of something.

"Yep. The one and only."

"Why are you here?" I asked, trying not to sound offensive.

"Well, I'm here to chat. About the Drakon."

"What about it?"

"You know, that it is impossible for monsters to enter the camp, unless someone summoned it, right?"

"Yes." I said, knowing where he was getting at.

"Do you know of anyone who might-"He said, before cutting him off, and I knew cutting a god off is not a very good idea.

"No, dad. I wouldn't worry about that. We must not suspect each other. It will ruin the camp. The best we can do right now is stay together."

"You are so kind, just like your mother."

"And you left her to die, Apollo." I said, using his name.

"I never left anybody to die!" He exclaimed, but no one woke up. "I-I-It is true, Lionel. Back then, a god has to leave, no matter what happens, and they still do. It is true that I left her. There is nothing I can make up for it. You have to endure separation and grief, Lionel. Even if you are a god." There was guilt in his face, as he turned away. I see that he was going to flash away.

"My mom…" I said in a hurry. "How is she?"

"Hmm?" He said, turning around.

"She died during childbirth. I never knew her."

"She was a wonderful woman, Lionel. She has those deep brown eyes, just like yours, just like she can see through all your concerns, and make it fade away." He laid his palm on my chest. "Come here; let me do you a favor." His hand glowed brightly, which woke nobody up, and I felt pain in my ribcage. My finger clenched. It felt like a hot pain, then the pain was fading away, until there are none. I sat up, and didn't feel any pain. My bruises were gone.

"Thanks dad."

"Here, take this." He handed me a sword, in its sheath, made out of shining silver with gold trimmed on its side, the handle clad in leather, which seem to have appeared out of nowhere. I took it from him, and tried to unsheathe the sword. "Wait!" He exclaimed, and pushed the sword back in its sheath. "Do you know what this is, Lionel?"

"I don't think so, dad." I replied, puzzled.

"This," He said. "Is the Sword of Damocles."

"The Sword of Damocles?" I asked, while turning my head to one side.

"This is a sword with a long history. It used to be an ordinary ceremonial sword. "It was used to kill the Tyrant Dionysius."

"Dionysus?" I asked, thinking of the camp director.

"No, Lionel. Not Dionysus. Dionysius." He corrected me. "In the Myth, he had this sword hanging above his throne by a single horse hair every day."

"In the Myth?"

"Yes. You want to know the true story? He offended the gods in every way possible, from cursing rituals to knocking our statues down. Zeus was furious, and sent me to end him personally. I walked from the front of his palace, right up to his throne with archers firing at me. As soon as the arrows reach me, they burn to ashes. I marched through the gate, and right up to the front of his throne, and well, tell him what Zeus wanted to say. He drew his sword, and stabbed at me. I took it from him like taking a candy from a baby, and stabbed him through the heart. Well, that was one occasional favor Zeus wanted me for. Somehow, his soul was trapped within the sword. That is why the sword is said to threaten people with fear from the sword itself, kind of like an aegis, but a lot more fearful. Only the righteous can use it, Lionel. I have given it to a few people, and they died the same, by my hands. They went mad, as Dionysius take control of them over time. So I will ask you now, do you accept this gift?"

"Yes, I do."

"That's my boy." He was about to flash away again.

"Dad?" I said

"Yes?"

"Am I your son?" I said, after taking a deep breath.

"What do you mean?"

"You see, it's how I'm not so Apollo-like, I'm not that good at archery and… you know what I mean."

"Lionel. I never said that I want my child to be like me, I just want them to be themselves, be what they want to be. This is probably what every father want. You are my son, Lionel, and you are no disgrace."

"Thanks' dad." I said just before he flashed away.

**Percy's POV**

After the cabin inspection, I went to the arena, which was scheduled for a sword & shield session with Clarisse. This is the time when she's the boss, and she made me fight against three Ares kids at once. After I put on my armor, Annabeth came to me.

"I heard you went to Rachel last night." She said.

"For a prophecy. Is it about Rachel and me again? I mean, she's an oracle now, forever maiden, Annabeth." I replied.

"Yes, I know, I just want to ask about the prophecy. I want to know the prophecy."

"Alright." I said, before telling her the prophecy.

"Percy, let me go with you."

"Of course not, Annabeth. At least one of us is going to die!"

"I don't care about that, Percy. As long as we're together, everything will be okay, right?"

"But you might die!"

"Then it may be you that will die, Percy, and even if I die, I will be able to spend the last few minutes of my life with you."

"Annabeth…" I said, looking into her eyes. I slowly put my arms around her, and moved my head forwards. She was moving her head forwards too. We kissed. After a few seconds, Annabeth's eyes widened in shock. I turned around, and saw every single camper standing, watching us.

"Aww, Hades." I said.

"Well, you ready now, Percy?" Travis Stoll asked. Annabeth put my helmet on my head from behind me.

"Go beat them up, Seaweed Brain." She said, smiling.

"Sure I will." I replied.

As soon as the battle started, Ares campers surrounded me. They were moving in a triangle, constantly sidestepping, with me in the middle. One of them lashed out at me with a horizontal blow, which I parried to the side. The Ares kid came at me from behind, stabbing at me, which I turned around and blocked the strike with my shield, making his sword recoil away. That was it for him, I thought. I threw my sword around, and was going to put it at his neck, but the third Ares kid lashed out with his sword, blocking by blow, sending us into a deadlock. The other two Ares kids quickly took formation, and the kid in the deadlock with me backed away, creating the triangle again.

Regardless of how good I were, it was impossible for me to fight surrounded by three people at once. I had to break the triangle. Before I could progress a plan, one of them moved forwards with a horizontal slash readied. I spun on my heel as I parried his sword, directing towards another Ares kid, then moving behind him, and seized him by the throat, having my sword at his throat, like holding a hostage. He dropped his weapons (which count as he's dead) and walked away. I broke the triangle, and lunged at one of the Ares kids.

They both came at me, but I rolled past them, and spun around, disarming him by striking the hilt of his blade, forcing it out of his hands. The other one turned around, slashing diagonally at me. I blocked the blow with my shield, but the Ares kid struck again at the same place a few more times. When the Ares kid was going to strike me with the same blow the fifth time, hoping to break my guard. I side-stepped to the right and his sword struck thin air, making him lose his balance. I feinted with my sword for a blow at his midsection, which made him lower his shield to block it. Before my sword struck, I lowered my posture, moving my sword around to the other side, stopping it right next to his neck.

"Checkmate." I said.

**So how did you like it? The submission was an hour late, but please bear with it. Took me a couple of hours. Please Review!**


	6. The Ancient Judges

**Does the plot suck that much? I mean, no one seems to care about it and most the reviews I've had so far are about the action-packed chapters. Well, just tell me how I could improve it. I'm drawing blanks for plots at the moment, so please endure it if it sucks. You know, I don't want to make something like those OOC PERCABETHs that kisses about a dozen times a chapter.**

Chapter 6: The Ancient Judges

**Percy's POV**

I took of my armor, and put it on the rack. I capped the Anaklusmos and put it back in my pocket. I later went down to the lake and threw some water all over my head. After that, it was archery class that went terrible, and being terrible at archery is no stranger to me. An hour later, I was doing pegasi riding, which was piece of cake, because my dad creates them. Another advantage is, I can talk to horses, and their cousins, like zebras. The day went on typically, until it was 2 in the afternoon, which Dionysus wanted to give a speech.

"Campers!" Dionysus said, making sure to catch everybody's attention "I am glad to say that there will be a quest allowed, personally requested by Demeter herself. Well, my brother's ride, the sun chariot is missing. It is about an important matter to whoever deems it to be important, and our Peter Johnson has volunteered to go on this quest! Now, he has to choose 2 more campers to go with him. So, Peter, have you decided? Now I'm going back to play my Pac-Man. By the way, the three will leave the camp at 3 O'clock." He finished, and then walked back into the big house.

As soon as finished the last sentence, everybody looked tense. Even Dionysus said it as it was not a big matter of great importance; it is one that could end the world. Well, mortal's world, of course, but it would have been a devastating blow.

"Percy?" Nico, the son of Hades said.

"I haven't made up my mind yet." I said, looking down.

"Well," Clarisse interrupted "We all know that the second member is going to be Annabeth."

"Shut up." I said, shaking my head.

"Let me go with you, Percy." Nico said.

"Alright. I'll go and tell Mr.D"

"Wait!" Someone said from behind.

**Lionel's POV**

"Wait!" I yelled.

Percy turned around, with a puzzled look on his face.

"Let me go with you." I asked, with determination. I'm not turning my back against this. My father didn't leave me and I won't leave him. "He's my dad. I can't just turn away from him. He-he visited me last night. He came to talk to me. He trusts me to do the right thing, so please, let me go with you."

"Nico, you alright with this?" Percy turned to Nico and told him.

"It's okay. I would have done the same for my dad." Nico said to me.

"Alright then, Lionel, you have…" Percy looked at his wristwatch. "Thirty minutes to pack up your things."

I did not wait any longer, and walked over to the Apollo cabin. All the cabin mates were there, but I didn't see Michael Yew. I turned to Frankie, one of my half-brothers.

"Frankie, where's Mike?" I asked. He replied by looking downwards in shame, his eyes full of sorrow. That was when I got the message. "Oh… you don't mean what I'm thinking, right?" He didn't reply. "RIGHT!" I yelled. Michael was my best friend. Frankie opened his mouth, then hesitated. Finally, he spoke. "The Drakon… it swallowed him…" That was when I felt my eyes misty, but I held it in. I pulled out my backpack, then put some clothes, ambrosia and nectar in it. After a few seconds of thought, I decided to bring my keyboard with me. It was just long enough to fit in the backpack. I then held the sword of Damocles, in its sheath. Suddenly, it turned into torchlight.

I slid the switch up once, to power on. The light flicked open. It was a bright, reassuring light, with a golden glint. I slid the switch up again, and the torchlight grew into the Sword of Damocles. I noticed that the switch was on the hilt, so I switched it off, and it turned into torchlight again. I slid it in my bag. I looked at my wristwatch (the replica of Percy's shield) and noticed that I have 10 minutes left. I somehow felt that I have to go to the lakeside, to my usual spot. Calypso was sitting at the flowerbed, her elegant caramel brown hair flowing with the mild gale, watering her flowers near the big tree. I walked up to her, and then sat down next to her. She turned to me.

"So… how is it going?" I asked?

"The flowers are growing nicely. This place would be blooming with beauty in a few days." She answered.

"I didn't mean the flower. I'm talking about you. You stared into the Drakon's eyes."

"I-I'm fine now. Thanks."

"I'm leaving for a quest in ten minutes. It will take from a few days to a week, at least."

"I'll be lonely then." She said softly, after looking away from my eyes. That surprised me.

"Hmm?" I said, starting to feel awkward.

"I-It's nothing." She said hurriedly. She was blushing red.

"Calypso… I may never come back again. I might-"

I didn't finish the sentence, because she silenced me with a kiss. She put her arms around me. I did the same. I didn't know how long did we held the kiss, but it was the longest time of my life.

"Lionel, promise me that you will come back to see the flower bloom." She said, looking right into my eyes.

"I-I will." I replied. "I should get going." She nodded.

I turned around and went to the camp's gate. Percy and Annabeth were waiting for me. Apparently, they haven't noticed me yet.

"Rachel told us to go to hospital. She said that is where the path starts." He said to Annabeth.

"How could you be so sure?" She replied.

"Well, I think she's the oracle, isn't she?"

"So you're going to do whatever she says?"

"I am not! I'm only saying that there's no other way."

"I think we should figure out what does the prophecy mean by "the path" first!"

I cleared my throat. They jumped, looking at me with their eyes wide open.

"I think we should trust the oracle. You know, we got the prophecy from her after all…" I suggested.

"Fine. Three to two. hospital then." Annabeth said in a hard voice.

Percy borrowed the camp's SUV and drove us to the hospital. I was sitting at the back, while Percy and Annabeth sat at the front. Along the way there, they hadn't said a word to each other. I assumed that they were mad at each other.

**Percy's POV**

We arrived at hospital. It looked like a perfectly normal hospital. I parked the car in the garage, and we got off the car. Annabeth hadn't said a word to me. She must be really mad at me. She was using Daedalus' laptop. We went through the front entrance. I walked up to the counter. Before I could say anything, the woman at the reception talked to me.

"You must be Mr. Percy Jackson. This way please." She said, and showed me the way. Lionel and Annabeth were walking right behind me. The receptionist led us to a vast, cold room. As soon as the door closed, something went wrong. The receptionist turned around, and I noticed that her eyes were glowing deep yellow. I uncapped Riptide as she changed into a full-sized hydra. Suddenly, a dark smoke flooded the room at knee length. In a blink of an eye, two men, clad in black robes was standing beside the hydra. The black smoke faded away.

"I am Aeacus." One of them said, in a sly tone.

"And I… am Rhadamanthus" the other one said, in a grim voice.

"Oh my gods…" Annabeth exclaimed.

"What is it?" I wondered.

"The former judges of the underworld…" Lionel said, and a chill went up my spine.

**Sorry for making the submission 2 and a half hour late for the submission, because I was in tight schedule today. Please review!**


	7. Unsheathing

**Early release! Please bear in mind that the Sword of Damocles, Aeacus and Radamanthus are not made up characters. They do exist… well, in the myth, or whatever Rick Riordan says. One more thing, Rick Riordan does not technically own the series. Disney Hyperion does. (Or at least that is what I think)**

Chapter 7: Unsheathing

**Lionel's POV**

"Why are you here?" I asked the judges.

"Is that not obvious? I mean, we lure you into a room with a hydra? Maybe we're going to throw a party?" Aeacus said.

"We should get this over with, Aeacus. Time is a luxury we do not possess." Radamanthus commented.

"True, but he wouldn't mind, right?"

"Who's he?" I interrupted.

"You talk too much, Aeacus." Radamanthus said.

"You are no fun, Radamanthus. Anyways, as soon as they die, the problems are solved, correct?" Aeacus complained.

"Just make sure that they will." Radamanthus said, pulling out a sword out of nowhere.

"And that, Radamanthus, is exactly what I am talking about." Aeacus said, and then a long battleaxe appeared through the ground, as if it was sinking upwards. It has a jagged edge made out of half celestial bronze and half steel, like the Backbiter, and the handle was a long, pure black pole, made out of obsidian. There was a spear tip at the end of the end of the axe, and there was a skull, carved in between of the axe blades. Aeacus grabbed it, and then wielded it two-handed.

"I'll take on the hydra." Percy whispered to me.

I pulled out a replica of the Riptide, and uncapped it, since my dad insisted to not use the Sword of Damocles unless I have to. Annabeth, on the other hand, pulled out a bronze dagger, which was professionally polished and sharpened.

"Let me fight Aeacus. My dagger is faster than his axe. I should have the advantage." She told me, and I knew who exactly I will cross blades with. Radamanthus.

Everything paused for a short moment, and then the hydra struck. That was when hell was let loose. Aeacus swung his battleaxe, and Annabeth nimbly dodged under the swing, and then lashed out with a quick slice at Aeacus, who blocked it with the long handle of the axe. Suddenly, Radamanthus lunged at me, one-handed, with his sword with a jab. I parried it, but the blow came back at me a second later. I parried more and more, but Radamanthus seemed to always find a way for his sword to twirl around and come back at me. Fighting him was a dark and silver blur. He was unexpectedly quick, for a dead person, that is.

I feinted with my sword for a high blow. He raised his sword to parry it, but as soon as I turned my sword around for a low blow, his blade followed, parrying mine, then coming back with a quick blow to my head, which would have decapitated me if I hadn't duck. I noticed that he was following my hands, not my blade. Feinting wouldn't work against him. He has got tremendous skills at swordsmanship. He took a step forwards, launching a flurry of blows at me. I could parry most of the blows, but he cut me at my right forearm. I gritted my teeth, and backed away after launching a quick strike at him, ensuring me a safe retreat.

We circled each other, taking steps at the same time, waiting for the right moment to strike. I pressed the button on my wristwatch, and it expanded into a shield. Radamanthus charged at me, leaping. I raised my shield to block, but I sensed something. It was a feeling in my head, telling me to back away, like there is a blade at my throat. At the last second, I took a step back, but wasn't quick enough. Radamanthus' sword slashed my shield in half, sending the broken piece to the ground. If I hadn't backed away, I would've lost my left arm.

"Holding back has its limits too, boy…" Radamanthus taunted.

I ignored him, and threw a vertical slash at him. He simply raised his sword up to block my blow. My sword struck down at his, and then there was a loud sound, like a hammer clashing against metal in a forge. There was an echo in my arm that made it numb. I looked up, and saw that I was wielding a sword with a broken blade. He did not wait to take the chance. He lunged at me once more, and I rolled to the side. I pulled out the torchlight, but Radamanthus was upon me. He was probably thinking "Huh? Torchlight? HAHAHAHAHA!" I raised it upwards, miraculously blocking his sword. He had a surprised look on his face, but I didn't wait any longer. I slid the switch up two times, and the torchlight grew into a full-sized blade. I grabbed it with both hands, and unsheathed The Sword of Damocles. It was a sharpened blade, with a bronze-gray shade. Somehow, I felt a fearful aura from it, like it was threatening you. That was when I saw what my dad meant.

Radamanthus, probably not even himself noticing it, took a step back. I lunged at him, and he hurriedly parried my blade away, then backing away one more step. The look in his eyes changed, as if he was nervous.

**Percy's POV**

The hydra has six heads, proving that it had been in a fight before. One of its head lunged at me with its mouth wide open. I rolled to the left, just escaping the first head, but the other heads were already trying to strike me. I spun around, and then stabbed one of the head's eyes with precision. The hydra has too many heads, and it gave me no time to catch a breath. It struck at me, one after one, and I just couldn't slice its head off, because it will grow another two.

"We can't stay here!" I yelled to Lionel and Annabeth. They gave me a look that they agree with me, and we all ran to the door.

"No!" Aeacus yelled. He threw his axe, which missed me by inches when I was at the door.

"Kill them! Now!" Radamanthus ordered the hydra.

"Get down!" I exclaimed. We went down, and a hydra head came crashing out of the room. I didn't know what the mortals see in the mist, but they were all running away, screaming, so I was sure it wasn't a good thing.

The hydra crashed through the wall, then charged at us. We ran out through the front door. The hydra breathed fire at us, but missed.

"The parking lot!" Lionel said.

We ran over to the parking lot, with the hydra right behind us. It was sprinting madly at us, and we took a corner. They hydra tackled into the wall, stunning itself for a few seconds and started running at us again. It was half galloping, half thrashing at us, spraying flames every now and then. We reached the parking lot. The SUV was just in front of us. Suddenly, a hydra head crashed into the SUV, turning it over.

"Oh Hades." Annabeth exclaimed.

The hydra was in a slow stroll now, with Aeacus and Radamanthus behind it. Aeacus was smirking. Radamanthus, in the other hand, slowed down into a walk, and pulled out his sword.

"Looks like it's going to end now…" Aeacus said.

"I would have been a lot easier if you haven't mentioned him, Aeacus." Radamanthus commented.

"Hey, don't blame me."

"Let's get this over with, Aeacus. He might not learn about it if we kill the heroes off right now, or it certainly will be a hard time for you."

"It surely will, Radamanthus. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to save my own arse." Aeacus said, raising his axe.

Suddenly, there were sounds of something whistling in the wind. It started off quietly, then loudly, with a very thick texture. Arrows streaked from behind us, hitting the hydra everywhere. It screamed, and fell. The arrows passed right through Aeacus and Radamanthus, but they let out a loud grunt, as if they had been hit.

"Aeacus, we have to leave now!" Radamanthus said.

"I have to kill them first!" Aeacus argued.

"Either you fall now, or later. Choose wisely, Aeacus." Radamanthus offered, and then turned into black mist, which passed right through the ground.

"Damn it!" Aeacus yelled at us, before turning into a black mist, following Radamanthus under the ground.

People were behind us, and I remembered someone familiar from the group.

"Well, the hunters save the day again." Thalia, daughter of Zeus and a hunter of Artemis said.

**Early Submission! Please review!**


	8. Gourouni

**I decided to start a chapter early. Peter Chi suggested me to quicken the plot, but I want this to last long. I haven't thought about the plot in advance, so it may not look grand, but I have the general plot in mind. I've been doing researches, and decided to use it as well. One more thing this is the edited version, filling nonsense gaps I put in**

The Freezing Death

Chapter 8: Gourouni

Thalia was standing there in her full battle gear, and about a dozen more hunters, all their bows in their hands. Thalia was staring at me, but it took me a few seconds for me to understand that she wasn't staring at me. I looked to the right then downwards, and I realized that I and Annabeth were holding each other's hand. Annabeth was looking away, blushing. I let go of her hand as Thalia walked up to us.

"That was pretty close." Lionel told me, out of breath.

"Yeah, that was real close." I agreed. "Anyways, what brings you here?" I turned to Thalia and asked her.

"Well, Lady Artemis told us to come check it out, and you're here. I heard her mumbling about her brother." Thalia answered.

"What about him?" Lionel asked her.

"Who are you?" She asked him.

"Oh, sorry. Thalia, this is Lionel. Apparently, he's a son of Apollo. Lionel, this is Thalia. Hunter and the daughter of Zeus." I interrupted.

"Well, if you don't happen to know, your father is losing power. He may lose his power permanently. He doesn't need to do that, but he wanted to keep the mortals alive, as long as he can, that is." She then turned to me. "Lady Artemis wanted to talk to you."

"You mean, now?"

"Correct. She's over there, with the hunters."

I walked over to the god of the Moon, as Thalia picked up a conversation with Annabeth. Artemis looked as if she was 12 years old, but don't get it wrong. She looks twelve because most of the hunters are. I've seen her fight three years ago against Atlas, a titan, and the thousands of years of skill were incredible.

"Perseus Jackson." She said to me.

"Please, address me as Percy." I replied.

"We should get to the point." She said. "One thing I know is, Aeacus and Radamanthus are working for someone."

"How did you know that?"

"Men… so blind… seriously, have you seen a gang of leading bad guys ruling in a duo?"

"Umm… no."

"And I think that it was someone who has access to the underworld as well."

"You mean Hades?"

"I think Hades is the last person we should suspect, Percy. You see, Hades never liked his job. He never enjoyed death. Now, think about how much workload would be dumped on him if six billion mortals die in the same day."

"That must be a lot…" I answered, picturing the god of the underworld becoming insane because of his work. "So who do you think it is?" I asked.

"I do not know, Percy. That is what you will have to find out. I and my hunters will have to leave now." She said, before turning around and rallying the hunters. Thalia ran over to join the group, winking at Annabeth on the way.

We found a motel near the hospital. Since we can't go anywhere for the time being, and it was evening, we decided to settle down. We got a room in the second floor, and I crashed onto the bed as soon as we arrived at the room. Annabeth was on the couch, using Daedalus' laptop. I lay on the bed for a few minutes, then got up, went over and turned on the television. It was on the news channel, which I never cared about. I picked up the remote, but before I could change the channel, a topic that caught my attention came up. It was about the wrecked hospital. It showed a sketch of me.

"NOT AGAIN!" I exclaimed in frustration. I've been branded a criminal for a few times already, and believe me, none of those times were good times.

"What were you going on abou-"Lionel said, walking in. "Oh Hades…" he continued. "Hey Percy, I'm going out to the store. Can I take a few bucks from the quest budget? I'm going out buying some snacks and a can of coke." He changed the subject.

"Yeah, sure." I answered.

"You want anything?"

"Hmm… a can of coke would do."

"Annabeth, you want anything from the store?" he shouted over to Annabeth

"A can of coke." She shouted back.

"I'm off then!" Lionel said, before leaving through the door.

I decided to walk over to Annabeth. Her absolute attention was focused on Daedalus' laptop. I sat next to her.

"So…" I paused, thinking of the right words. "What did you and Thalia talked about?"

"It's nothing." She said, turning away from me.

"Oh come on, Annabeth. Is it about this afternoon?"

"No." She stated, but I clearly saw that she was lying.

"Annabeth, she is the oracle. We should trust her words." I said, but she didn't answer. I hesitated, before continuing. "I'm sorry, Annabeth. I didn't mean to-"

"No, Percy. You're right. The fates sent us there to see the hunters."

"It's my fault, Annabeth. I shouldn't have raised my voice."

"Percy, you were asking what I and Thalia were talking about?"

"Y-yes."

"We were talking about you, Seaweed Brain." She said, leaning towards me. I stretched my arms out, and she fell into my embrace. She threw her arms around my neck. We kissed.

**Lionel's POV**

I walked up to the door, turned the doorknob, and opened it. On the couch, Percy and Annabeth were kissing. Percy looked at me, his eyes wide open, as well as his mouth. His gestures suggested that he was very surprised. Annabeth looked down and away, blushing. I was at a loss of words.

"I-I-I-uh… I think… uhh… I think I forgot something outside." I said awkwardly, before stepping backwards and closed the door, like I was backtracking outside. I stood outside the door for a few minutes, before opening it again, and put the bag on the table.

"Chewing gum, Chocolate, and 3 cans of coke." I said, and acted that I never stepped in this room a few minutes ago.

**Percy's POV**

After finishing a movie, I felt tired. I got up and turned around. Annabeth was sleeping on the couch, her laptop still turned on. I went over to it, saved her works and turned it off. I carried her to her bed in my arms, and put her down on it. I put the sheet over her. She turned, mumbling "Thank you, Percy" in her sleep.

I collapsed on my bed, and almost instantly, I fell asleep. This time, a dream disturbed me. Two people were kneeling in front of a jet black throne, with a silhouette (It wasn't clear who he or she was) sitting on it. I noticed that the people kneeling were Aeacus and Radamanthus.

"Aeacus. I see that you have not finished your job." The silhouette said.

"Master, please, I will correct it as soon as possible." Aeacus hurriedly said in a trembling voice.

"Nevertheless, it was a minor mistake." He turned to Radamanthus. "Radamanthus."

"Yes, lord?" he said, in his usual grim voice.

"Continue the search for the path. Aeacus, You will clean up your mess."

"It will be done, master. I have already dispatched someone. His blade should be at their throats by now." A shiver ran up my spine, and I woke up. Someone was at my bedside, its hand raised. It was a second later that it was a giant hammer in his hands. With my ADHD senses, I rolled out of bed; a split second before the hammer came crashing down on the bed, crumbling it and sending out an echoing sound at once. Lionel came out with his torchlight aimed at the assailant. He was a man about forty years old, wearing full Greek battle gear under his cloak. He has got a fair brown hair, and a brown beard, which made him, looked like a mixture of a pirate and a Viking.

I uncapped Riptide and stabbed at his chest, which he made no effort to defend it. My sword recoiled off his body. He smirked, grabbed hold of the sleeve of my shirt, and threw me out of the window. I crashed through the window, but I landed safely, due to Chiron's training of "how to fall from high places with the least injury possible." The sky was still dark, but my wristwatch told me that it was half an hour until daybreak. My assailant jumped down from the window.

"I am Gourouni, and I bear the curse of Achilles. I am no coward that hides my vulnerability, Perseus, for I shall reveal my Achilles spot. It's at my left eye, right at the eye patch, if you can strike me there, that is."

**Phew, finally finished! Took me some time there. The name Gourouni is made up, which translate from Greek to English means boar. Sorry that this was a little late. Please review!**


	9. Daybreak

**Hmm… no reviews for chapter 8. Expecting a few on this chapter, but hey, maybe I am expecting too much? I mean, the other stories that has the same length has like about 30-80 reviews. Well, maybe I was posting at the wrong time, but can you please tell me when is best to post a chapter, harvesting for reviews? (GMT +0 please)**

The Freezing Death

Chapter 9: Daybreak

**Percy's POV**

Gourouni walked towards me, then swung his hammer in a horizontal arc and I ducked. What I know was, anything got hit by that gigantic hammer wouldn't get back up. I knew what the curse of Achilles could do. When I was invincible, I single-handedly defeated a regiment of undead British colonists with muskets. Now that the gods took it away, I am literally dead meat, unless I managed to land a strike at his left eye, which honestly, isn't a large spot either.

I side-stepped to the right and rolled as Gourouni struck a vertical blow at the ground. I aimed a jab at his left eye with precision. He turned to me, and grabbed the Riptide with bare left hand, then pulled it from me like stealing candy from a baby. He threw the Anaklusmos away. He then lifted up his hammer. I noticed that he had to carry the hammer two-handed, and I figured that it must've been awfully heavy. Lionel and Annabeth came out of the motel door, their weapons ready.

Annabeth lunged at Gourouni with her bronze dagger, swinging it, which he blocked with his long hammer hilt. He spun quickly, for someone of his size, moving to Annabeth's side. He clenched his right fist, and threw a punch at Annabeth. She nimbly dodged his fist, and returned a blow to his left eye. He moved his head, dodging the blow, and dragged the hammer across the ground with his left hand, trying to strike Annabeth with the hilt. She was in a deadlock.

Lionel jumped in with his sword, parrying the hammer hilt. The sword somehow has a weird vibe that was like looking at Thalia's aegis, but the effect was a lot stronger. It was as if the blade was at your neck. Annabeth backed away from Gourouni, and I felt Riptide returning to my picket. I uncapped it, and aimed a strike at his left eye. He got his hammer, and jabbed me with the hilt into my stomach, since hitting the head of the hammer at a lightly armored, nimble target was hard work. I was struck square in the stomach. Now, he was holding his hammer with both of his hands.

I quickly regained balance and rolled away just in time as the hammer came down. I got up into a crouched position, as Annabeth was coming up at Gourouni's back. I eyed at Lionel, trying to tell him to distract the enormous warrior. Somehow, he understood, and leapt over Gourouni's hammer as he made a sweep with his hammer. Suddenly, Gourouni's eyes flashed (well, his right eye) and I realized what was going on. He was pretending to not see Annabeth.

"Lionel! Protect her!" I shouted.

Lionel leapt over Gourouni's back, using Gourouni's shoulder as a stepping stone, and dived at Annabeth, bringing her down to the ground, as Gourouni turned around with a horizontal swing, which was avoided just in time. As Lionel got up, somehow, Gourouni's swing became faster, and I could see straining blood vessels in Gourouni's muscles. He threw another horizontal swing, which hit Lionel in the stomach. Lionel covered his stomach, and then fell over to the ground, not moving.

"Lionel!" I shouted, but he didn't answer. Blood was running from his mouth. In rage, I charged up to Gourouni's back. Gourouni turned around, and grabbed my throat, lifting me up from the ground, choking me, then threw me over to Annabeth. Annabeth reached over to me. I grabbed her hand.

"You know," Gourouni said, in his deep voice. "Holding back has its limits too." He raised his hammer up.

**Lionel's POV**

The world was switching on and off in my eyes. I felt as if I was hit by a truck. The pain was unbearable. Blood was running from my mouth, and some of my ribs may have been fractured. I got up on a sitting position. Annabeth and Percy were in each other's arms, on the ground. Gourouni was standing with his hammer raised, ready to kill. It was daybreak. The sun was going up, sunlight shining on the ground. I looked to my feet, and saw something glittering. A glittering silver bow and a stack of arrows. I knew exactly knew what to do.

I grabbed it. Even though I was not all that good at archery, I had to make the shot, or my friend dies. I sat up in a crouched position, drawing an arrow from the stack. Everything was in slow-motion. The mild breeze of the wind, the leaves gliding in the air. The grasses moving, like waves. The flowers moving at a natural pace. The sun, giving life to all. I aimed my bow, and pulled the string. The target in front of me, knowing that I must not fail. My eyes locked on the target, unmoving. My hands stopped shaking. The breeze stopped, and all that was left was silence. I offered a silent prayer to Apollo, and released the string.

The bow slightly recoiled in my arms, and the arrow sailed through the sky. It was spinning violently, gliding at the target, and screwed itself tight into Gourouni's left eye. Blood sprayed into the air from his left eye, like a red mist. He dropped his hammer, and then fell backwards, his arms spreading out. Blood was still spraying for a few seconds, and then stopped. Percy and Annabeth got up.

"Lionel, how did you do that?" Percy asked me.

"I-I seriously don't know." I answered. Suddenly, the pain came back, and I fell to the ground, clutching my stomach.

"Nectar and Ambrosia! Now!" Annabeth exclaimed as Percy staggered into the motel.

I got up, and moved towards the motel. Inside, the motel owner was shaking at the back of the counter, shouting some foreign words. Percy came down with some nectar and ambrosia. I took some gulps, and felt better. I kind of figured that the mist made it look like I just shot somebody in the eye. There were sirens wailing.

"We ought to get out of here!" I suggested.

"Oh yes we will." Percy agreed, and placed some cash on the counter. We ran off, and caught a bus, and went a few blocks further. We walked up to an appliances store, and there were half a dozen TVs facing outside. It was on live news, and there were all three of us, caught on camera.

"Well, you got a mate now." I told Percy.

"Well, where to now?" Annabeth asked.

We all stayed silent, until Percy noticed something behind me. His eyes widened as if he didn't believe it. I turned around, and there was a hearth fire, with a little girl and a boy sitting near it. I noticed that the boy was Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades.

**Percy's POV**

I was surprised to saw Nico and Hestia there. It was as if it all happened by chance. I figured that the fates were pulling the string, but I wasn't sure which way they were pulling.

"Nico and… Hestia?" I asked.

"You mean, THE Hestia?" Lionel asked me.

"I am Hestia, the goddess of the Hearth, Lionel Crawford." Hestia said.

"Why are you here?" I asked her, trying to make it not sound offensive.

"I think I know who is behind all this." Nico started. "Thanatos, the personification of death." He finished.

"You mean… a god of death?" I questioned.

"No, Percy. Thanatos is not a god. Eris was the personification of strife too, until she claimed godhood." Nico explained.

"And, what is the difference of a personification and a god?" Lionel interrupted.

"God is invincible and immortal. Personifications are immortal, but not invincible. They stay alive as long as they don't get killed. Many personifications were killed throughout the ages already, but do understand, that they are feared." Hestia explained.

"Percy, I'm joining your quest." Nico said.

"Wait, Nico. Didn't the prophecy say that "Three heroes shall walk the path"?"

"Well, you know what path?" Nico asked. I was struck by that question.

"Err, nope." I said carelessly.

"And that is why I will guide you. Thanatos is in Illinois."

"Well, to Illinois then." Annabeth agreed.

"Thank you Hest-" I was about to thank Hestia, but when I turned to her, she was gone, and the hearth fire was burned out.

**Did you like this? Please review!**


	10. Death

**A plot revelation in this chapter! R&R For the win! Well, to be honest, I never had an idea why Thanatos is in Illinois, but the name Illinois just sound good. I did some researches about Illinois, and well, got a plot bridge. Why did I include Hestia? Well, she seems to always help Percy out in TLO, so why exclude a minor god? Now, it begins. First 2 digit chapter!**

The Freezing Death

Chapter 10: Death

**Percy's POV**

"Where exactly in Illinois is Thanatos?" I asked Nico, as I steered the car (which he hotwired. I never knew where he learnt that.)

"Springfield. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, to be exact." He answered me.

"How did you even know that?" I asked.

"Percy, my dad is the god of the underworld. He can just pick out a spirit and interrogate it anytime he wanted."

"I don't understand. Why would the personification of death be in a presidential library?"

"Well, I don't know so. I don't even know him."

"How long will it be until we reach Illinois?" I asked.

"Hours, at least. You guys could take a nap. I'll take the wheel."

"Nico, can you drive? I mean, you don't even have a license. You're 15!"

"Well, then yours will be at stake then."

"Fine, but you really know how to drive?"

"Sure. Alecto taught me."

"You mean, Mrs. Dodds?" Nico nodded. "A Fury taught you how to drive? Seriously?" He nodded again, as if it was obvious.

"Pull over. Let me take the wheel." I was exhausted and didn't want to argue at that moment, so I stepped on the brake, and switched seats with him. I leaned on the seat, and before I knew it, I fell asleep. In my dream, I saw Aeacus kneeling in front of the throne, but Radamanthus was nowhere to be seen. The silhouette sitting on the throne was clear now. It was a man with grey hair, which looks like it was a several thousand years old. He was in black tuxedo and trousers, with expensive leathery shoes. If you saw him in plain sight, he would have looked like a typical old businessman, but if you look into his eyes, you would see that his eyes were red, and somehow, in those red eyes, it felt cold. He raised his glass of whiskey, and took a sip. I was sure that it was Thanatos.

"Any news on the heroes?" Thanatos asked.

"They killed Gourouni. Looks like the fates weren't on our side." Aeacus replied simply.

"The Fates does not take sides, Aeacus, and I see that you have failed." Thanatos said.

"I have not failed, Thanatos. I will send another-"Aeacus spoke, but was cut off.

"Enough!" Thanatos said, slamming his glass on the side of the throne, and made Aeacus jump. "You will send no more warriors. It's as those mortals say, "If you want to do things right, you have to do it yourself." And that applies to you, Aeacus. This will be your last chance. Seek the heroes out. Cut them down, and I will not take any excuses. You have delayed our plans much already. Get this sorted out or I will personally sort you out."

"I will do it right away, Thanatos." Aeacus managed a reply.

"No, Aeacus. Can you not sense it? The heroes are coming. Why go out to catch them when they are coming directly to us?"

"H-have Radamanthus reported yet?" Aeacus tried to change the topic.

"Radamanthus came with good news. He had found the path, but it won't be progressed unless our side of the deal completes. That is where you come in, Aeacus. Crush the heroes. Bring me victory, and return triumphant, and I will greatly reward you."

The images faded away. The scene turned to darkness, but a voice called out for me.

"Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon." The voice said. I tried to reply, but no word came out of my mouth. "You will fall before me. You will be tortured for eternity. Be afraid. Be very afraid, Percy… Percy! PERCY!" The voice became louder, and I noticed someone was calling out for me.

"Percy!" I heard Annabeth's voice. I sprang up from my seat. "Percy, we're here." Annabeth continued.

"Illinois?" I asked.

"Yes. We're in front of the Library."

Nico parked the car, and we got off it. There was a group, tourists with a couple of guides in front of the place. The guides were probably explaining something to the tourists, as they were busy taking pictures. We cut across the line of tourists, and went inside. There were statues that mimicked the scenes of civilians during the civil war, dressed in old clothes. The flag of America was everywhere. They looked very real, and as we were looking at the exhibits, the light turned off. I pulled out Riptide and uncapped it. Annabeth revealed her bronze dagger; Lionel pulled out his torchlight, and switched it on, and Nico unsheathed his jet-black sword.

The lights flicked back on, and the statues has got spears and made a wall around us, creating a path onwards, and along the path, stood Aeacus. Behind Aeacus, was a throne with a man in tuxedo and black trousers in it, drinking whiskey. Thanatos, I realized.

"Ladies and Gentlemen." Thanatos said. "I am Thanatos, I am nicknamed Death, and I judge your fates here." He flicked his finger, and the statues raised their spears. We made a circle, back to back.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, trying to delay Thanatos, and trying to think of something at the same time.

"Well, as I see that you are at your brink, I will tell you. I took the sun chariot because people will die, and I am the personification of Death, Percy. I grow stronger with every death. At the same time, distracting Hades. You see, there is a certain somebody I wanted to get out of Tatarus, and there is a secret path there. It was even older than Kronos or Zeus. It was sealed and forgotten since the age of Uranus, your great grandfather. Hades is the master of the underworld, and he would sense anything going on in there. Well, sorting out six billion mortals would be enough time for us to slip somebody out of Tatarus undetected."

"The gods would kill you."

"They will be cast into Tatarus long before then. You see, that somebody promised me godhood. A throne in Olympus, and I know that person can do that. I get stronger when six billion mortals die, and godhood. It's a win-win situation for me, Perseus. Now, my plans should proceed smoothly once I kill you." He said, and flicking his finger again, as the statues attacked.

I parried away a spear, and slashed back at a statue, decapitating it. Nico spun around, slashing a spear shaft of a spear coming from his flank. The fighting was ferocious, and it was a busy scene of blurs. Strikes were dealt, parried, block, missed and reversed. It was near impossible to distinguish somebody from another. I saw a black form coming at me, with an axe raised up high. Aeacus lunged, throwing down a vertical blow with his axe. I parried it with my sword, and stabbed him in the chest. I pulled the sword out, and instead of blood, black mist poured from the wound.

"You can't kill the dead, fool." Aeacus said, as he spun, throwing a diagonal strike towards my neck. I ducked, and rolled backwards as three spears struck at me. Aeacus snatched a spear from a statue, and hurled it towards me. My ADHD senses kicked in, and I charged at the spear. It missed me by a few inches from my shoulder. I leapt at Aeacus, who raised his axe in defense. Our weapons clashed, and we went into a deadlock.

**A full-Percy episode! So how did you like the plot? Hate it, love it? Please review!**


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